3 steps forward in Anaheim

STOCKTON - Bob Thomason witnessed many positives from his Pacific men's basketball team last week.

Bob Highfill

STOCKTON - Bob Thomason witnessed many positives from his Pacific men's basketball team last week.

The Tigers went 2-2, starting with a hard-fought loss on Monday at home to Oral Roberts, followed by wins over Xavier and Saint Mary's and a loss to Cal at the DirecTV Classic in Anaheim. Pacific was televised three times on the ESPN network while in Anaheim, and those who watched the Tigers saw a team that plays unselfishly and defends with abandon.

Pacific (3-4) made it home Monday morning and today will begin preparing for a game against another high-profile opponent, No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday in Spokane, Wash.

"We're finding out what we do well, what we don't do well," Thomason said after Sunday's 78-58 loss to the Golden Bears. "We've got to build that confidence that we can compete against big teams."

On Nov. 19, Pacific battled but fell down the stretch against Oral Roberts, losing to the Golden Eagles, 69-67, in similar fashion to its 66-61 loss the previous Friday at Fresno State. The Tigers took a 1-2 record to Anaheim with a first-round matchup against perennial NCAA Tournament participant Xavier. Pacific shocked the Musketeers 70-67, becoming the first Big West Conference team to win a first-round game in the sixth year of the DirecTV Classic. The Tigers played exceptional defense and found success inside the paint. Trevin Harris came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points.

The following night, Pacific controlled a Saint Mary's team that features high-scoring guard Matthew Dellavadova, a member of the Australian national team. Lorenzo McCloud scored 18 points, and Rodrigo De Souza and Sama Taku alternated guarding Dellavadova and held him to 16 points, half his production the previous game against Drexel.

The tournament took a break Saturday, giving the Tigers time to enjoy Disney-land before Sunday's game with Cal of the Pac-12 Conference. From the opening tip, the Golden Bears' length and size, and playmaking guards Allen Crabbe and Justin Cobbs bothered the Tigers, who seemed to lose some of the verve they showed in their previous two games. Pacific cut Cal's lead to five points in the second half, then the Golden Bears stepped on the throttle and shots that fell the previous two games didn't go through the net for the Tigers.

After Saturday's game at Gonzaga, the Tigers have home games Dec. 4 against Nevada, Dec. 8 against USF, and Dec. 15 against Santa Clara before traveling to Moraga on Dec. 19 to play Saint Mary's again and then a home game on Dec. 21 against Cal Maritime leading to their Big West Conference opener on Dec. 29 at Long Beach State.

"The next month we're really going to find out about our team coming to practice with great purpose and fine tuning what we have going," Thomason said. "If we do, we have a chance, but we don't want any setbacks with attitude and effort."